Rolling screen



July 7, 1925 1,545,282

G. M. SACERDOTE ROLLING SCREEN Filed Feb. 13; 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l vanV607 July 7, 1925.

G. M. SACERDOTE ROLLING SCREEN 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb, 13, 1925 If 5.j

IIIIIIIIIIIIIYIVIIIIIJIIII Queens, city reference Patented July 7, i925.J I

come I. sncnanornior' new romp-n. Y'.

ROLLING sonnnu.

Application filed February 1a, 1923'. Serial No. 618.762.

To all whom it may concern:

' 'Be it known that I, GUmo M. SAGERDOTE, a subject of the King of Italy(declarant of intention of becoming a citizen of the United States),residing in the boroughof of New .York, county of Queens, and. vented:certain new and "useful Impro'vements in Rolling Screens, of which thefollowing is' a full, clear, and exact description,

drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of windowscreens or shades of the rolling type, being particularly adapted foruse in connect on with rolling screens. v

Its primary object is to provide a positive and efiicient lockingmechanism for the sides of the screen or shade, preventing its bulgingor pulling out of the side guides under pressure.

A further object of thisinvention is to' rovide a novel and im rovedtype of lockmg mechanism for win ow screens or shades of the rollingtype, whereby'the screen or shade may be locked at any .position againstthe action of a spring roller to which the same is attached, and maysimultaneously'be locked at the sides against-bulging or pulling but atthe sides.

A still further object is to provide an improved construction ofclamping meansfor .the sides of a rollingscreenor shade, whereftion andtear of the flimsy fabric of which the screen is generally composed.

by wear and tear, of the screen or shade itsel is prevented.

' is permanently applied With these and other objects in view, as willmore fully appear as the description proceeds this invention furthermoreconsists in certain novel and improved constructions and arrangementsofparts, as will be hereafter fully described and claimed 1n theappended claims.

la the construction of screens of this character, considerabledifficulty has been-heretofore experienced in preventing the screen frombulging or pulling out at the sides.

under the action of wind pressure orcarcless handling, as well as fromsagging at the sides under the action of the tension which between thetop and the bottom of the same. This type of screens generally consistsof a strip 0 wire cloth attached at one end'to a spring roller on whichthe same is wound when inopera- State'of New York, have inbeing had tothe accompanying which is attached to the screen,

tive, being concealed from view b a casing within which said roller isordinarily mounted. The free end of the cloth is attached to acrossmember which is used to operate the screen, and which is generallyguided so as to constantly remain parallel to itself during its motion,on said cloth In order to cause the screen to stretch and to lie flatthroughout the entire window space, however, under tension at all times;and'under this tension, unless prevented from doing so, the sides of thescreen will sag,.and the surface thus exerting of the cloth and itstexture will in time become permanently deformed, interfering with theproper winding and unwinding of the same. i I

Various means have heretofore been dean even tension throughout itsentire length.

the roller ismaintained vised therefore, to prevent inward motion of thesides of the screen. In some instances, hooks or other retainin meanshave been attached to the sidesof t e screen, and compelled to travelalong a predetermined course by guiding means; but anything inevitablycauses increase and unevenness of the d1 In other mstances, means forclam ing the sides throughout their 'entirelength We been adopted, whichI have found to. be fairly effective, but which are opento variousobjections. Among these, are the necessity of a separate and additionaloperation of said. lamping means subsequent to the setting of the screenin position, and the use of operating means ance of the screen. Anotherobjection is the wearing out of the sides of the screen, which will intime occur, due to the rubbing action of wedge acting clamping meansapplied directly against the screens surface.

My invention obviates these various unsatisfactory features by providinglocking means for the sides of the screen which will for the same whichare not concealed and which mar theappear neither alter its physicalcondition, norincrease its diameter when winding; and by providinglocking means against the action of the roller, which-operatesimultaneously and in conjunction with said side locking means. I alsoprovide a novel and simple method of guiding the motion of the crossmember or bottom rail, which does away with a number of parts now usedfor this purpose in the construction of screens of various descriptions.

A specific embodiment of my invention is shownin the drawings, which areintended for illustrative urp'oses, and not in a limiting sense. In t esame:

Fig. 1 is a front view in elevation of my improved screen applied to awindow, in its extended position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front view in elevation of the upper righthandcorner of said screen I Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sidesectional viewof the same; Y I.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan sectional view of the same; I

Fig. 5 is a plan sectional view similar to Fig. 4, showing the side ofthe wire cloth released by the clamping means; i

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front view in elevation, partly sectioned, ofone of the ends of the bottom rail; and,

Fig.7 is a detail sectional view of a side rail showing a difi'erent'mechanism for operating the clamping means.

The frame of the screen consists of two upri hts or side rails 10, 11,and a cross mean r or casing 12, which is shown at the top, and withinwhich is mounted roller 13.

While said three members may b connected to each other in a permanentmannor, I prefer to adopt a construction which allows of the variousparts to' be separated and reassembled at will; this constructionpossessing marked advantages in packing and shipping operations.Accordingly, I show each side rail attached to the casing by means of anangle piece 14, 15; each angle piece supporting one end of shaft 16,

. on which roller 13 is rotatabl mounted. Y

. held together y. means of two tie r Each angle piece is provid with aninwardly extending portion 17 whiclnfits and is inserted within one ofthe endsof casing 12, and a longitudinally extending portion 18 which inasimilar manner fits and is inserted within one of the ends of one ofthe side rails.

The two an le pieces and the casin are s 19 20,'andby a third tiered 21,which is in serted through a bead formed at 22 in the casing and whichalso stifi'ens the casing itself. Connection between each angle pieceand its side rail is maintained by means of a tie rod 23 which also actsas a pivot for the clamping member, as willbe explained.

The side rails are in the form of an enincense closed casing formed witha slot 24 between its rear and its inner sides, and casing 12 is formedwith a slot 25 between bead 22 and rear side 26, which registers withslots 24: when the frame is assembled.

A spiral spring 27, one end of which is attached to shaft 16, and theother end to roller 13, is set under tension, and maintains in theroller a tendency to wind up the wire cloth 28 which is attached to thesame. Tothe free end of saidwire cloth is at tached the bottom rail 29,by means of which the same "may be extended or contracted, said clothpassing through slot 25 and having its sides extending through slots 24within the side rails.

The wire cloth is attached to the bottom rail in any suitable manner.Through its various features of construction, the bottom rail is enabledto perform three different functions, viz:

1.Operating the cloth with an even ten-' sion for its entire width, thebottom rail being maintained constantly parallel to itself during itsmotion by having its ends against the tension of the spring roller bymeans causing friction to take place between said bottom rail and itsside longitudinal guides.

3.-perating the side clamping means. ,The clamping pressure .proper, atthe sides, is exerted by the. wedging action of he cam'surface 300i aiclam ing rail 31, inserted on tie rod'lg23, an capable of pivotalmotion thereon; said being thus mounted within the side rail andextending as practically its entire length. 7 Angular, {motion of saidclamping rail aroundits-pivot, will cause its cam surface 30 to press a'ainst or to release the surface against "whic the same abuts; whichmay,

if desired, be the wire cloth itself, which would thus he clampedbetween the back of the side rail and the clamping rail, but whlch wouldbe subjected to a rubbing action during the clamping operation.

To prevent the wear on the cloth which might possihl ensue, I prefer-toemploy a clamping lea 32,-pivoted at 33, receiving clamping rail with apacking of materia having a certain degree of resiliency and plasticity,preferabl rnhher, as shown at 34. Such a material will not only createbetter frictional conditions on account of its higher coetli: cient, butit will actually fill the spaces between the wires of the wire cloth,and actually look the same against side motion.

Clamping rail 31 is formed with a beaded 'asaaasa edge 35 by means ofwhich the rail is operated and which serves at the same time as] y 43,-44 45 designates the wire cloth, 46 a alon'gitudinal guide for thebottom rail.

-To this endthe bottom railis made cot lapsible and provided at each endwith an arm 36 irig up to an end 37 inserted on said beaded edge 35and-'slidably and pivotally movable thereon. By moving the two arms 36inwardly or outwardly at the same time, therefore, the two fjclampingrails will simultaneously release or look the sides of the wire cloth.Furthermore, if the pressure exerted by said arms 36 against the forinstanceby means of clamping rail to move the same to its clampingposition is maintained, the same will v create a 36 and the clampingrails which" will effectively lock the bottom rail preventing rewi'ndingof the cloth ,until said pressure is released.

' In the .device illustrated, the clamping action takes place when thetwo arms 36 are expanded, said outward ,',movement of the arms beingcaused in any suitable'manner, springs as shown in the drawings In thesame, arms 36. are slidably mounted within the bottom rail proper, andare each provided with a rod 38 extending toward the center of therailand terminating in an exposed clip 39. A spring between the centralportion of the rail and the rear of each ,arm 36 tends to force said armoutwardly, and exerts the pressure necessary to operate the clampingrail connected thereto ing action; at the sametime,

I preferabl and tolock the bottom rail in position.

By applying the thumb andthe tip of the first finger to the two clips39,- same may be forced towards each other, movingx arms 36 inwardly,and therefore releasing t e clampthe bottom rail may be operated so asto lower or to raise the screen to its new position, when by releasingthe clips the screen will again become locked. I

The lower edge of the bottom rail is provided with means for holding arubber l ade 41 insuring a tight closure of the screen when in operatinposition, for instance a slot 42 through wh1chsaid rubber blade may beinserted. Felt may also be used if desired.

The essential advantage of my invention resides in the fact that apositive side lockpractice.

inserted through slot 34 and extend-' friction between said arms allypressure should be re course contraction'of,the'bottom rail. It may alsobe noted that when springsare used, or other cured to the angle piece bymeans of tie rods clamping leaf pivoted at 47, and 48 a pack-. mg withwhich the same is preferably provided. V I,

Like in the previous case, the bottom rail is made collapsible, .49designating one of its movable arms provided with an end portion 50slidably andpivotally connected to a longitudinal bar 51, integral witharms 52 hinged inside of the side rail at 53. Bars 51, one at each side'of the screen frame, thus constitute the guidingme'ans'foi: the bottomrail, as well as its locking means when the same is allowed or caused toexpand- In the same,,the side rail is se- The clamping leaf, 46, is inthis case operated by means of a toggle joint constituted by arms 54pivoted to said leaf at 55, pivotconnected at 56 to arms 57 attached toa fixed pivot 58-inside of the side rail. When the toggle joint isexpanded, as shown in the drawing, 1 the clamping action takes place,and, when theisame is contracted, by moving its joint 56 towards theleft, clamping leaf 46 with its packing or pad 48 is caused to releasethe wlre cloth which will thus be'free to move. v

The toggle joint is operated by arms 52 through 'connections'59 betweensaidarms and joint 56, and' its operation is therefore simultaneouswith, and controlled by the operation of the bottomra'il. L 1 In thedevices shown in the drawings, I

use springs in order to create the pressure necessary to produce the(clamping action,

I and the required frictional resistance between the bottom rail and itsguiding-bars, the springs being for convenience ofconstruction, locatedin the inside of the bottom rail. Both the cam and the toggle jointaction described multiply the pressure exerted by the spring manifold,so that in practice I have, found springs of moderate no pressure and.such asto be easily operated by a woman in themanner-describe'd, to be'quite-satisfactory. 7 i

In such cases" where more than normal uired, for instance, in

connection with win ows of abnormal dimensions, means other'than springsmay of be used to control the expansion or means as well, the same donot necessarily have to be located in the bottom rail in order toobtainthe desired result.

From the foregoing 'it is seen that I provide a novel form of controlfor locking the sides of the wire cloth; clampin means, of novel designfor effecting the c ampin action; a novel and simple method of gui ingthe longitudinal motion of the'bottom rail; a novel method of lockingthe bottom rail; and a novel method ,of simultaneous lid control of thebottom rail and the side clamping members. I

As previously stated, thespecific details of construction may vary fromthose shown without departing from the spirit of my invention; and Ireserve myself the right to carry my invention into practice introducingall those changes and modifications which might be deemed advisable inorder to satisfy varying conditions, and such as may enter, fairly intothe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1, In adevice of the class described, comprising a movable panel and across member attached thereto, means operated I b "said cross memberadapted to lock the edges of said panel.

2. In a device of the class described, comprising a movable panel, meansadapted to clamp the edges thereof, and means causing the automaticsimultaneous operation of said clamping means,

3. As a new article of manufacture, a rolling screen or shadehavingautomatically and simultaneously operated edge locking means,independent of said screen.

4. In a device of the class described,-comprising a frame and a panelmovable within the same, a cross member attached to said panelregistering with parts of said frame and guided by said frame parts inthe course of its longitudinal travel, so as to occupy substantially.parallel successive pbsitions during said travel.

5. In a device of the class described, -and in combination with a frameand a panel movable within the same, a cross member attached to saidattached to said panel having movable end pieces registerin with partsof said frame and guided by said frame parts in the course of thelongitudinal travel of said cross member, causing said cross member tooccupy substantially parallel successive positions during said travel,and means for maintain-- in said end pieces under pressure againstsaldparts. y

6. in a device of the class described, and

' in combination with a frame and a panel movable within the same, across member attached to said panel, and side edge locking means forsaid panel controlled by said cross member.

7. ln a device of the class described, an in combination with a frameand a panel movable within the same, a crossmember anel having movableend pieces, and side edge locking means for said panel connected to andoperated by said and pieces.

8. In a device of the class described, and in combination with a'frameand a panel movable within the same, a cross member attached to saidpanel having movable end pieces, and longitudinal guiding means 9. In adevice of the'class described, and,

in combination with a frame and a panel movable within the same, apivotally mount- ,ed edge locking member at each side thereof,

and means for causing the automatic simultaneous operation of saidlocking members.

10. In" a device of the class described, and in combination with aframe, a Panel movable within the sam a ,cross member attached to saidpanel, and means for locking the side edges of said panel, means forsimultaneously operating said cross member and said edge locking means.

11. In a device of the class described, and in combination with a.frame, a panel movable within the same, a cross member at tached to saidpanel, and. means for locking the side edges of said panel, means forlocking said cross member in position at the same time operating saidedge locking means.

12. In a device of the class described, and in combination with a frame,a panel movble within the same, a cross member attached to said panel,and longitudinal guiding means therefor, means for causing a brakingaction between said cross member and said guiding means, and means forloclring the edges of said panel simultaneously operated by said guidingmeans.

13. In a device of the class described, and in combination. with a frameand a panel movable within the same, means for locking the edges of saidpanel, and a cross member attached to said panel having springcontrolled movable end pieces operating said edge locking'means.

it, In a device of the class described, and

in combination with a frame having two side members, and a panel movablewithin the same having its eds registering with.

said. side members, a clamping jaw at each side thereof adapted to clampsaid edges against said frame side members, and

lid

spring controlled means for simultaneously operating the same 15. In adevice of the class described, and in combination with a frame havingtwo side members, and a panel movable within the same having its ed asregistering with said side members, a camping member at each sidethereof adapted to clamp said edges against said frame side members, anda cross member attached to said panel adapted to operate said clampingmembers.

16. In a device of the class described, and in combination with amovable panel, and side edge clamping members therefor, a collapsiblecross member attached to'said panel adapted to operate said edge lockingmembers.

17. In a device of the class described, a

20 edge clamping means entirely concealed within and side frame members.

able Within the frame having tvvo side members, a panelside members; anda cross member attached to said panel operating said locking means.

\ 18. In a device of the class described, a frame having two side,members, a panel movable within the same having its edges runningthrough said side members, locking means "for said edges enclosed Withinsaid sidemembers, and'a collapsible cross member attached to said panelpivotally and slidably connected to said locking means.

19. Asa new article of manufacture, a rolling screen or shade comprisinga frame having two-side members and a panel mow same having its-edgesrunning through said side members, and provided with longitudinalindependent side '20; The combination, with a frame, a

for said panel,

panel movable therein, andwinding means for said panel, of a crossmember attached to said panel,

edges of said panel, and means adapted to at means adapted to lock thelock said cross member in position and to operate said edge lockingmeans. 7

21. The combination, with a frame, a panel movable therein, andvvindingmeans to said panel, means adapted to lock the.

edges thereof, and spring actuated means adapted to lock said crossmember in position and to operate said edge locking means;

' 22.- A rolling screen er shade comprising a frame, a spring rollermounted therein, a flexible panel attached thereto and adapted to bewound upon rollerQmeans for locking the edges of said panel, and a;tached to the free end of said panel adaptedto operate said edge lockingmeans,

*e'cino M. saonanean,

or unwound from said I of a cross member attached self-locking. crossmember at-

